Goodbye, My Darlings
by wolf with panther eyes
Summary: Bluefur brings Mosskit, Mistykit and Stonekit to the RiverClan border so that their father can take them. One-shot


-1Bluefur carefully leant over Mosskit and picked him up. The small gray kit squirmed slightly as his mother began to carry him out of the camp and into the snow-covered forest.

_I hope I'm doing the right thing, _Bluefur thought to herself as she padded through the undergrowth, ignoring the cold that pierced her paws.

Mosskit gave a tiny mew. Bluefur wished she could comfort him, but she couldn't while she was carrying him.

_Nearly there now, _she whispered in her own mind as she caught sight the frozen river. She heard the tiny mews of her other kits as they waited for her, shivering in the cold. Bluefur hurried over to them.

The two kittens both looked up as their mother approached, and both began to call out for her.

Bluefur gently lowered Mosskit, then murmured "Hush, little ones." She started licking them both.

"But it's cold," Mistykit complained, pulling herself against Bluefur's warm flank. "Why have you brought us here?"

Bluefur glanced across the river, then back to her only daughter. "Your father is going to take care of you," she meowed quietly.

"Is he a fierce warrior?" Stonekit asked, his small ears pricked up.

Bluefur licked his forehead. "Yes, darling. He's a fierce and brave cat."

"Hey, Mosskit." Mistykit poked her younger brother with a forepaw. "Are you okay?"

Mosskit didn't open his eyes as he mumbled "it's too cold…"

Instantly, Bluefur pulled him closer to her. "Stay here, where it's warm," she encouraged him. "Just until your father comes."

A shiver passed through Mosskit's body.

"Mistykit, Stonekit, could you get on either side of your brother?" Bluefur asked, suddenly anxious for her smallest kit.

"Okay." Mistykit repositioned herself.

Stonekit sniffed Mosskit's flank. "He's cold," he announced.

"He won't be cold for long," Bluefur promised, sweeping her tail around her three kits. They fell asleep almost instantly, surrounded by the warmth of their mother and their siblings.

Bluefur looked up at the sky. It was a clear night, and the moon shone brightly, turning the forest into a frozen wonderland. The stars burned even more so, and Bluefur suddenly wondered if her ancestors were watching her at this very moment.

As if on a silent cue, an icy breeze whistled past the trees. It carried heavy snow and buffeted Bluefur's pelt.

Mistykit, Stonekit and Mosskit woke up in alarm.

"When's daddy getting here?" Mistykit whimpered. "It's freezing!"

"So cold…" Mosskit murmured, placing his nose between his paws and closing his eyes again.

Bluefur quickly rearranged herself to protect her kits from the weather. "Your father will be here soon, Mistykit." _Where are you, Oakheart? _she wanted to yowl. _Your kits are dying!_

"Mosskit's not breathing!" Stonekit cried, his nose pressed against the smaller kit's fur.

Bluefur froze. Then, quick as a flash, she bent down and covered Mosskit's pelt in swift, rapid strokes with her tongue. She felt his chest move up and down and felt a brief sense of relief - which disappeared as she realised how shallow his breathing was.

Mistykit's teeth started chattering. "It's cold."

Stonekit pressed himself against his sister and intertwined their tails. "We'll be warm soon," he told her. "Mummy promised us."

Bluefur heard them, and her panic increased. "Come on, Mosskit," she whispered between strokes. "Stay with me."

Mosskit's breathing became shallower and shallower until Bluefur couldn't feel anything at all. The tiny kit's body stilled.

"No!" Bluefur yowled. She licked him more franticly. "Oh, Mosskit! What have I done?" She forgot about everything - all that mattered was keeping her kit alive. "Mosskit, please wake up. Mosskit, don't leave. There's warmth and safety on the other side of the river."

Mosskit didn't move, and Bluefur heard Mistykit ask hesitantly "What's wrong with Mosskit? Why won't he wake up?"

"Mosskit, your father's coming. He'll look after you, I promise. Just a little further, my tiny, brave son."

Mosskit's body was limp as Bluefur reached out and pulled him between her forepaws. Her blue eyes were wide with grief as she slowly realised that she was too late. "Mosskit, how could I do this to you?" she whispered. "It's all my fault."

The wind seemed to be whispering now. Bluefur looked out across the river with dazed eyes, but she could have sworn there was a white-furred she-cat standing in front of her for a second.

_I'll look after him_, the wind seemed to say.

"Bluefur?"

Bluefur blinked. Instead of a white cat, a dark brown tabby tom stood in front of her.

"Bluefur, what happened?" he meowed in a low voice as he noticed the tiny kit clutched between her paws.

Bluefur's voice caught in her throat as she whispered "Mosskit… he didn't…"

Oakheart bent down and licked Bluefur's cheek, trying to comfort his mate. "It's okay," he murmured. "I understand."

Bluefur's eyes narrowed. "What took you so long?!" she spat. "If you'd been here earlier, Mosskit may have survived!"

Oakheart flinched. "What about Mistykit and Stonekit?" he asked. "Are they…"

"Daddy?"

Stonekit slowly raised his head, taking in his father for the first time. Beside him, Mistykit too lifted her head.

Oakheart took a few steps forward. "Hello," he meowed, trying to keep his voice light. "You must be Mistykit and Stonekit."

Stonekit stared back at him. "Are you our daddy?"

"You smell funny," Mistykit added.

Oakheart gave a small smile. "Yes, I'm your father. And I'm sure you'll get used to the smell, Mistykit."

Bluefur lifted her head. "You better take them across," she muttered.

Oakheart straightened up and faced her. "Do you want to say goodbye?"

Bluefur almost nearly answered no - but then she caught sight of her two remaining kits. Both sat up straight as they surveyed their father, their blue eyes wide.

Bluefur carefully placed Mosskit to one side, and then stood up and moved over to them. "Your father is going to take you to your new home now."

Shook flared in their eyes. "Why?"

Bluefur glanced back at Oakheart. The dark tabby came to stand beside her, his pelt brushing against hers and his scent wafting around her. "There's plenty of food where I live," he told the small kits.

Mistykit gave a joyful squeak. "Food!"

Oakheart twitched his whiskers. "Yes, food."

Mistykit got to her paws, then tumbled over. "I'm too tired to walk," she complained. "Can't you just bring me the food?"

Oakheart gave a playful growl. "Why don't I carry you?" He grasped her lightly in his jaws, and Mistykit let out a small squeal.

The tomcat placed her down as quickly as he'd picked her up. "Stonekit, you'll have to walk," he told his eldest son.

Stonekit nodded, his eyes serious.

Bluefur gathered her two kits up with a sweep of her tail. "Goodbye, my darlings," she whispered, smothering each of them in licks. "Your father will take care of you now."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Stonekit asked.

Bluefur gave a sad smile. "I'll see you from time to time." Slowly and painfully, she released her hold on them. "Goodbye."

"Isn't Mosskit coming with us?" Mistykit mewed, reaching up to touch her nose to her mother's one last time.

Bluefur's eyes filled with sorrow. "Mosskit is staying with me."

Oakheart padded over to his mate and kits. "Come on, kits," he meowed softly, then turned to Bluefur. "Bluefur, I'm so sorry," he murmured so that the kits couldn't hear.

The two cats stared at each other. Amber eyes met blue.

"It's not your fault," Bluefur finally meowed, breaking the silence and looking away.

A tail curled around hers.

"I'll always love you, Bluefur," Oakheart whispered into her ear, his eyes filled with pain.

Bluefur rasped her tongue over the side of his face. "Same," she replied quietly.

Oakheart's eyes burned into her own. "We'll be together in StarClan," he murmured. "And that's a promise."

Their tails briefly lifted, twined neatly around each other. Then, slowly, they broke apart.

"Come on, then," Oakheart meowed to the kits.

Mistykit lifted her chin into the air. "You promised you'd carry me."

Oakheart grinned. "So I did." He swiftly seized her in his mouth.

"Bye," Bluefur murmured, her voice barely reaching over the wind.

Oakheart turned his head and dipped his head before padding off towards the river while Stonekit floundered after him.

Bluefur watched until the snow allowed her to see no more, then swivelled around back to where Mosskit lay, his back already covered with a thin layer of snow.

The gray-blue she-cat crouched down beside her son and pressed her nose against his fur. "Mosskit," she meowed under her breath. "I know you would have made a fine RiverClan warrior."

Slowly, she lay down beside him, curling herself around his still body. "I'll look after you tonight," she whispered. "I'll protect you from the elements."

She rested her head beside her youngest kit and closed her blue eyes, letting all the exhaustion of the day catch up with her. "Goodnight, Mosskit, my darling…"


End file.
